Thread by @mdreid

Many tech companies are rolling out new work from home policy in response to the coronavirus.

I’ve been working remotely for almost three years so I thought I’d share some advice that I found useful.

1. Spend some time now understanding how your company’s VPN, conferencing software, storage, and services need to be configured to work outside your building.

If you’re still at the office test what works & what doesn’t by temporarily connecting to a personal hotspot.

2. If you need to connect to machines at the office, consider setting up mosh (mosh.org). It’s built on SSH and provides connections that persist when you close your laptop or if your WiFi drops out.

Using tmux is worth a look to if you’re not already using it.

3. When messaging be concise and unambiguous. Think about whether all the people you are communicating with will understand all the terms, context, and motivation.

Switch to voice or video if a discussion needs to be more of a conversation. Report answers back to group channels.

4. Now is a good time to make sure your contact details, messaging profile, address book, etc. are up to date.

If you think you will be interacting with new people while you’re at home consider changing your profile picture to a photo of yourself.

5. Make sure you get up and move around regularly. Use the time you would normally commute to do some exercise.

I’m always surprised when I visit my team’s office just how much incidental exercise I get moving between meetings, grabbing lunch, etc.

6. Get a laptop stand and external keyboard and mouse/trackpad. Make sure your screen is at eye level. Don’t work on your couch or bed. Your back and shoulders will thank you.

7. Factor in some time to have informal chats with your teammates. Ask them how they are holding up. What they’ve been up to. If you know them well ask about hobbies, families, pets, etc.

Those spontaneous hallway chats are important and need extra effort when you are remote.